PDF/A (‘A’ is for ‘archive’), otherwise known as ISO 19005, is the subject of my latest feature article, The Content that Endures: What to know about PDF/A.
Opening with the question “What happens in the year 2023, when someone has to open an Outlook PST file from 2003 to settle a lawsuit?” the article draws on numerous interviews with industry experts, including members of the PDF/A Competence Center.
In this piece, I focus on the relevance of PDF/A to current document-management and retention practices, attempting to address key questions such as:
- Why is PDF better than TIFF?
- Is PDF/A really an archive standard?
- What challenges await PDF/A implementers?
- Why is Europe ahead of the US in adopting PDF/A?
PDF/A is already being adopted by some government agencies and other “heavyweight” organizations, but many others have barely begun to grapple with the issues PDF/A addresses, let alone consider their options.
The fact that Adobe’s PDF Reference, a document on which PDF/A depends, is now ISO 32000 should set to rest lingering concerns about the “proprietary” nature of PDF and spur interest in PDF/A.
Originally posted on Duff Johnson’s PDF Perspective blog for acrobatusers.com.
By Duff Johnson